Cricket is a sport that has a massive fanbase all over the world. It is the most popular sport in Asian countries with India having one of the largest fan bases. Millions follow the game in the Indian subcontinent and it is nothing short of a religion.
And, the fans of the sport in India go to great lengths to know about their favorite players. Also, with the advent of social media, people can get to know what their cricketing idols are up to.
But then, there are a few facts that many Indian cricket fans might not know, and these facts might even surprise them:
5. Virat Kohli bagged his first T20I wicket without bowling a single legal delivery
Virat Kohli is known around the world for his batting prowess. He is one of the modern-day greats. Not many know this but Virat Kohli is the only bowler to get his first T20I wicket without bowling a single legal delivery. This happened on 31st August 2011.
Kohli was brought on to bowl during the 8th over of the England innings. Kohli delivered his first ball in T20I cricket down the leg side to Kevin Pietersen, and the ball was adjudged as a wide. But then, the England batsman lost balance for a fraction of a second while trying to flick the ball, and MS Dhoni whipped the bails off in a flash. Pietersen was caught short of the crease. And so, without bowling a single legal delivery in his T20I career, Kohli scalped his first wicket.
In that game, Virat Kohli bowled 3 overs and gave away just 22 runs. He has a total of 4 wickets in his T20I career but the first one will always be in the record books.
4. Mandeep Singh played for South Africa A as a substitute
Mandeep Singh has played just 3 T20I’s for the Men in Blues. He is also part of the Punjab Kings franchise. In the IPL he has scored a total of 1659 runs in 104 matches. The batsman also has 6 fifties to his name. Mandeep Singh played for South Africa A in a game back in 2015.
In an encounter between India A and South Africa A as many as 4 South African players were suffering from stomach issues. Due to such an unforeseen circumstance, South Africa A had to call on Mandeep Singh to field against his own team India A.
In that encounter, India A side comfortably coasted to a win against the South Africa A outfit courtesy a blistering 219-run opening stand between Unmukt Chand and Mayank Agarwal. While Agarwal scored 130 off 122 deliveries, Unmukt Chand helped himself to a classy 90 as India A posted an eight-wicket victory.
3. Virat Kohli was ranked among the Top 10 T20I all-rounders in 2017
Virat Kohli with yet another weird milestone in this list. Kohli’s name was in the list of the top 10 T20I all-rounders in the world. Yes, you read that right Kohli was the 10th best all-rounder in the world.
In November 2017, Kohli had accumulated 190 points and was placed at 10th place in the list of all-rounders. When Kohli was ranked in the 10th spot, Bangladesh’s Shakib al Hasan was occupying the top place in the rankings. Another intriguing fact is, in 2017, Kohli did not bowl a single ball in T20Is but was still ranked at the 10th place in the list of all-rounders.
2. Rahul Dravid played for Scotland
Rahul Dravid is an Indian batting legend. He has scored over 10000 runs in both Test and ODI’s. He also captained India for a few years.
In fact, Dravid is the second-highest run-scorer for India in Test match cricket after Sachin Tendulkar and has amassed 13288 runs in his Test career at an average of 52.31. Rahul Dravid had earlier played for Scotland
The batting legend scored 600 runs for the Scotland side in the 11 matches that he played and scored his runs at an average in excess of 60. Dravid last played an international match for India in January 2012.
1. Four Indian batsmen together put on an opening partnership of 408 runs for the first wicket
This incident took place in 2007. India and Bangladesh locked horns at the Shere Bangla Stadium. India batted first and posted a total of 610/3. They lost their first wicket when the scorecard was 408 runs. When the first wicket fell not two but 4 batters had played till then.
Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik opened the batting for India. But then, Dinesh Karthik decided to get ‘retired’ during the Tea break on Day 1 as he could not withstand the extreme heat. So, Rahul Dravid walked out and joined Jaffer out in the middle. And, when the Indian scorecard read 281, Wasim Jaffer could not carry on any further due to exhaustion, and he too retired when he was batting on 138. And, the iconic Sachin Tendulkar joined Dravid.
Dravid and Tendulkar made merry at the expense of the Bangladesh bowlers. But then, with the scorecard reading 408, Dravid was the first Indian batsman to be dismissed and hit Mohammed Rafique to the fielder who was stationed at point. And as a result, the first Indian wicket fell with the scorecard reading 408. Dinesh Karthik came back to bat once again and completed his century. He was dismissed for 129.